The opening of a new office complex in Kano, Nigeria, Impacts in Nigeria acknowledged and recounted at new office building inauguration

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1 Happenings Newsletter October 2016, No Feature Stories Impacts in Nigeria acknowledged and recounted at new office building inauguration (L to R) Dr Hakeem Ajeigbe, Country Representative, ICRISAT-Nigeria (third from left), Dr Ganduje and Dr Tabo at the inauguration of the new office building. The opening of a new office complex in Kano, Nigeria, was acknowledged by local leaders as a demonstration of ICRISAT s commitment towards agricultural research and development in semi-arid West and Central Africa. The new building was inaugurated by Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Executive Governor Kano State. This new office complex will strengthen the existing collaboration between the national agricultural research institutes and their international counterparts, and ensure that the current challenges to sustainable agricultural production are overcome, said Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture. ICRISAT activities in Nigeria date back to the 1970s. The following are the impacts of collaborations in the region Development and adoption of several sorghum and pearl millet varieties Through the Semi-Arid Food Grain Research and Development/United States Agency for International Development (SAFGRAD/USAID) project in 1976, several sorghum and pearl millet varieties were developed which were adopted by farmers. New sorghum varieties and hybrids released In 1988 ICRISAT set up a Research Station at Bagauda near Kano to pursue a research program focused on the improvement of sorghum-based cropping systems. Two sorghum varieties ICSV 400 and ICSV 111, and two sorghum hybrids ICSH NG and ICSH NG were released in collaboration with the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria. Rosette-resistant groundnut varieties released In 1992 ICRISAT and IAR embarked on a large hybridization program to develop early maturing groundnut varieties resistant to the rosette disease. The outcome of this work was the release of several rosette-resistant groundnut varieties. Exchange of germplasm, breeding materials and technologies In 2008, ICRISAT and the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) commenced another collaboration on development and implementation of joint research programs in Nigeria. ICRISAT in collaboration with ARCN, IAR and the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI) has since

2 been working in Nigeria on sorghum, millet and groundnut. Mutual cooperation and collaboration has been established in areas such as exchange of germplasm, breeding materials, scientific information and techniques, and capacity development. Other collaborative research projects with various National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) include Rebuilding the groundnut pyramids Boosting farmers' incomes through improved groundnut varieties Crop management and processing technologies Boosting sorghum production Commercialization and industrial utilization through public-private partnerships. For the past many years, ICRISAT has been operating from a temporary building provided by IAR. The new office is located on the same premises. At the inaugural ceremony, Dr Ramadjita Tabo, Research Program Director, West and Central Africa and Country Representative Mali, ICRISAT, thanked the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for its support. The inauguration held on 27 September was attended by national partners and representatives of donor agencies, ICRISAT staff Dr Anthony Whitbread, Research Program Director, Innovation Systems for the Drylands; Dr Hakeem Ajeigbe, Country Representative Nigeria and Principal Scientist, Agronomy; Dr Michael Boboh Vabi, Country Project Manager and head of Office Construction Committee; staff of ICRISAT-Nigeria and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). g This work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals Mali Agri-business Incubation Hub incubatee wins entrepreneurship contest Ms Aissata Diakite, an incubatee of Mali Agri-business Incubation Hub (MAIH), won an entrepreneurship contest for her project Zabbaan Holding that produces juices (smoothies and cocktails). The juices have a shelf life of one year and can be stored at room temperature without losing flavor or taste. The production, transformation, standardization, marketing and distribution processes of the products is all done locally in Mali. Ms Diakite represents a group of 10 Malian young entrepreneurs living in France. She has won the contest of the Mali Diaspora Entrepreneurship Program during an event organized by Fanaday Entertainment on 10 September at Bamako. Ms Diakite has returned back to France for the acquisition of processing equipment for her new enterprise. MAIH has assisted in the preparation and the feasibility studies of the winning project. The food technologies laboratory of the Mali Institut d Economie Rurale (IER) has provided her assistance for the production of juice samples. Hotels like the Azalai Salam Hotel group and other customers have already shown interest in the products. About MAIH MAIH, a pioneering public-private partnership, addresses the needs of entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers through incubation services including access to technology know-how, skills development, training, and business development, access to office space, equipment facilities and financial resources. One important target of MAIH is entrepreneurship and job creation especially amongst the youth through entrepreneurship development programs. The headquarters are located at ICRISAT, Samanko. The operations for Youth Business Incubation; and Incubation units of Seed Business and Agro Processing Business are carried out from Institut Polytechnique Rural (IPR), Katibougu and IER, Sotuba, respectively. MAIH is promoted by IER, ICRISAT, Institut Polytechnique Rural (IPR), CORAF/WECARD (West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development), Agri Business Incubation Network (AAIN), UniBRAIN Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). g Ms Diakite shares her experience with a group of youth at a conference organized by MAIH. This work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 ICRISAT Happenings October

3 Strategies for building resilient farming systems for the semi-arid regions of West and Central Africa Stakeholders reviewed, consolidated and charted pathways for sustaining the resilience of farming systems in different agro-ecologies of the semi-arid regions of West and Central Africa, at a workshop in Nigeria. The presentations addressed the functioning and the integration of the drivers of resilience and components of effective technology packaging and delivery with the overall aim of increasing production and productivity of the farming systems. The discussions provided an avenue for prioritizing research extension, policy and options for funding to attain large-scale impact across the region. From the deliberations the following trends and research gaps were noted: Growing demand for crop-livestock products in WCA Changes in the structure of the demand for food which are driven by increased per capita income and rapid urbanization resulting in change in diets and preferences Price volatility of major agricultural produce and natural resources associated with marketing of agricultural produce Challenges of managing pastoralism and dealing with issues of conflicts between pastoralism and farmers Climate change is a major issue impacting agricultural production and attainment of food security Inadequate synergy between research and policy and low participation of women and youth in agricultural extension, thereby limiting service delivery to women in key value chains. The workshop recommendations for addressing the above issues included: Policy dialogue platforms based on evidence-based research findings Increased funding for research and development among all partners Higher synergy through multi-disciplinary research for crop-livestock integration, adoption of better management practices including climate-smart farming systems Strengthening of feedback mechanisms for monitoring agricultural technology Increased investment for sustainable intensification of smallholder mixed-croplivestock systems through effective land use planning and efficient management of soils, water, pasture, and other essential resources Development of market-driven innovation platforms linking all actors along the value chain Gender mainstreaming Dissemination of improved technologies and use of ICT Need for appropriate legislations to provide legal framework for sustainable implementation. The workshop inaugural was attended by Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Executive Governor of Kano Sate; Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, Deputy Governor of Kano State; Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture, high level officials of Federal and State Governments, members of Federal and State Legislative Assemblies, academia from the CGIAR centers, universities, colleges and polytechnics, civil society organizations, captains of industries, farmers, the media and students from several institutions. Papers at the sessions covered diverse issues of croplivestock systems in WCA. Presentations were made by Dr Bukar Tijani, Africa Representative, FAO, Accra, Ghana, Dr Timothy Olalekan Williams, Director Africa, International Water Management Institute, and ICRISAT staff - Dr Ramadjita Tabo, Research Program Director, West and Central Africa and Country Representative Mali, and Dr Anthony Whitbread, Research Program Director, Innovation Systems for the Drylands. Dr Hakeem Ajeigbe, Country Representative in Nigeria, contributed to the discussions as facilitator and speaker. Other sessions focused on options for scaling out/up of crop-livestock technologies in WCA and decision support tools for agricultural technology development and delivery. The workshop titled Future Resilient Farming Systems for Semi-arid Region of West and Central Africa was held at the Centre for Dryland Agriculture, Bayero University of Kano, Nigeria, from September. Partners: Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA), Bayero University, Kano and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and ICRISAT g Participants at the workshop. This work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals Photo: Jerome Jonah, ICRISAT ICRISAT Happenings October

4 New Climate Smart Agriculture project launched in the poorest regions of Niger To improve the resilience of poor households to climate risk in the resource-constrained farming systems of the semi-arid ecology of Niger a project funded by the European Union was launched. The project will use a participatory approach to co-develop and scale out Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) innovations which will include: Short duration crop varieties well adapted to the climate The development of seed value chain to improve access to seeds Improved technologies of soil fertility, water harvesting and agroforestry systems. A crosscutting objective of the project is focused on sustainable increase of agricultural productivity and nutritional values of agricultural products, reduction of poverty by the strengthening local value chains of high value crops and trees for income generation, especially for women and youth. The project titled Enhancing resilience to climate change through the dissemination of integrated management technologies: Soil-water-Agro-pastoralism is designed using an integrated systems approach targeting the development and scaling of CSA innovations to improve the resilience in two of the poorest regions of Niger, Dosso and Zinder. This systems approach will be used in designing resilient farming systems to improve livelihoods and incomes. This is an opportunity to link different initiatives and actors to CSA in Niger, for example our work on the restoration of degraded lands for food security and poverty reduction in collaboration with ICRAF (World Agroforestry Centre) and funded by International Fund for Agricultural Developmen (IFAD) and European Union (EU), said Dr Anthony Whitbread, Research Program Director, Innovation Systems for the Drylands, who was present at the launch and involved in several initiatives in the region. The Governor of the region, His Excellence Moussa Ousmane, Representative of the Government of Niger commended ICRISAT for its dedication to the cause of poor smallholder farmers, particularly in the Sahelian region in Niger. Mr Saibou Tamoudari, Prefect of Dosso, appreciated that the project addressed the issue of climate change. The project was launched at Dosso on 24 September and Zinder on 1 October. g Investor: European Union Partners: NGO Contribution au Développement Rural (CDR); NGO Action pour un Sahel Vert (ASV); Ministry of Environment; Ministry of Agriculture CGIAR Research Program: Dryland Systems Photo: Mahamane Badamssi, ICRISAT His Excellence Moussa Ousmane distributes plants to women at the project launch. This work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal Web Updates New blog Crop simulation models: predicting the future of pulses Dr Vincent Vadez, Theme Leader, System Analysis for Climate Smart Agriculture, ICRISAT Pulse crops have many benefits for farming systems, both from the angle of human and animal nutrition and of soil health and farming system sustainability. They face production challenges and these will get worse in future climate scenarios. Yet, the biological basis for increasing tolerance to production constraints is being much better understood and germplasm collections offer a treasure trove of solutions for breeding improved cultivars. There are also software tools such as crop simulation models that allow scientists to decipher the complexity of pulse production and simplify the choice of targeted interventions to maximize productivity and sustainability. 4 ICRISAT Happenings October

5 New pearl millet varieties and hybrids capture farmers and seed producers interest in Niger National Agricultural Research System partners and farmers attend a field day at Sadore, Niger. T he newly developed open pollinated varieties and hybrids of pearl millet were showcased during a field day in farmers fields near Yuri in Niger and also at the ICRISAT research center at Sadore. Varieties selected by participants based on their regions need included ICTP 8203 and ICMV 221 Wbr and hybrids such as ICMH IS 14002, ICMH IS 14003, ICMH IS 14009, ICMH IS 14011, ICMH IS and ICMH IS As part of the program, a farmer participatory varietal selection was conducted during the field day. Farmers, seed companies and NGOs were asked to select the new varieties and hybrids based on their interest. This exercise helped to better understand the requirements of the farmers in different regions of Niger. The selected varieties and hybrids will be produced in the next season to showcase these varieties and hybrids in the farmers fields in coming days. During the field visit, the seed kits of 250 g of ICTP 8203 seeds were distributed to each farmer for sowing in their fields next year. After the visit the AINOMA seed company expressed interest for training in hybrid seeds production. An AINOMA technician will come to ICRISAT as an intern for field training during the off-season trials. This work was carried out in partnership with HarvestPlus. The newly developed ICRISAT-bred pearl millet varieties with high grain Fe content were planted in farmers field and also in Sadore for demonstrations. The new varieties are ICTP 8203, GB 8735, ICMV 221 Wbr, ICRI- Tabi and Jira Ni along with hybrids ICMH IS 14002, ICMH IS 14003, ICMH IS 14009, ICMH IS 14011, ICMH IS 15012, ICMH IS and ICMH IS The Indian Ambassador, His Excellency Mr RS Malhotra inaugurated the field day and visited the pearl millet demonstrations in Sadore research station and in farmers field at Yuri. He also visited ICRISAT research facilities such as abiotic stress studies platform, genebank and micronutrient soil analytical laboratory. He appreciated the research being conducted at Sadore and the ICRISAT facilities at Niger. ICRISAT Happenings October

6 Around one hundred participants representing national partners, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN), farm unions, various NGOs, Ministry of Agriculture and seed companies (AINOMA seed company) across Niger witnessed the field day and appreciated the newly developed varieties and hybrids. g Partners: INRAN, AINOMA seed company, farm unions (Made bane, Fuma Gaskiya and Hareyben), Ministry of Agriculture, National Seeds Certification Agency and NGOs CGIAR Research Program: A4NH This work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals L to R: Dr Malick Ba, ICRISAT Country Representative, Niger, His Excellency Mr RS Malhotra, Indian ambassador in Niger, his wife and Dr Prakash Gangashetty, Scientist - Pearl millet breeding. Breeding tool plays a key role in program planning R egion-wise Program Improvement Plans for target crops groundnut, chickpea, cowpea and common bean were presented at a recent Tropical Legumes (TL) III Genetic Gains workshop. The workshop used the results of the Breeding Program Assessment Tool (BPAT) as a resource to help guide breeding programs in improving their targeting, speed, scale, efficiency, quality (control, precision, and accuracy) according to each partner s unique characteristics and resources. The workshop was attended by key breeding programs of CGIAR centers and select National Agricultural Research System (NARS) partners from eight participating countries. The discussions resulted in partners agreeing on the following: Extensive use of Breeding Management System (BMS) Adoption of more mechanized practices Leveraging capacities of partners Exploring capacities to harness forward breeding Building modern foundation seed stores. Key traits identified for development included early maturity, foliar fungal disease resistance, drought tolerance, groundnut rosette disease resistance, P-efficiency, tolerance to aflatoxin contamination and nutrient-use efficiency to meet the needs of poor soil fertility in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Uganda. Partners realized the most immediate improvement they can make in their breeding program is increasing the cropping cycle by at least one cycle per year to translate the enhanced breeding efficiency. Materials received from ICRISAT for foliar fungal disease resistance were useful and a few adapted lines were selected and promoted to advanced trials. It was also noted that an internal mechanism in CGIAR centers is required to incentivize breeders for sharing of breeding lines with NARS partners. NARS partners were encouraged to engage and invite objective leaders of TL III to their annual work-planning meetings which may provide guidance on collaborative activities to be carried out. Dr Clare Mukankusi from CIAT presenting PIP for Common Bean - ESA. 6 ICRISAT Happenings October The common objective presented across the countries was to develop market preferred varieties with drought tolerance, pest and disease resistance and improved nutrition. To achieve this it was recommended to increase number of nurseries, number of crosses, breeding trials and sites. Partners were of the view that to improve quality, higher precision phenotyping is required. There is a need for measurement of genetic

7 gain, better data capture and seed storage facilities. NARS partners presented the program improvement plan for each legume in a crop by country combination chickpea in Ethiopia and India; common bean in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda; groundnut and common beans in Tanzania and Uganda; groundnut and cowpea in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria. Program Improvement Plans at African Hubs Groundnut Traits of focus are drought resistance, leaf diseases, aflatoxin and rosette. The objective of the Program Improvement Plan is to improve genetic gains, increase genetic effects and minimize environmental error. Prior to BPAT the West and Central Africa (WCA) program relied mostly on Malawi and India programs for crossing and segregating populations. The actual crossing program started in 2009 with only nine crosses per year. The proposed area of improvement following BPAT for both Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) and WCA hubs are as follows: Increase the crossing capability of the program (up to 250 crosses per year per site) and widening the genetic pool through introductions from the genebank in India Optimization of the selection strategies through Single Seed Descent (SSD), pedigree modification and early generation selection from F2 and F3 generations Testing strategies to optimize target and testing environments including number of test sites in each environment Number of replications and number of years for onstation and on-farm testing Make use of advanced statistical tools (mixed models, spatial analysis) to optimize selection precision Use of marker technologies (currently focus on traits for late leaf spot and rust) Strategic partnerships for winter nurseries at government stations in Malawi (early leaf spot and groundnut rosette disease), Naliendele Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) Tanzania for rust or shuttle breeding between WCA and ESA to speed up generation advance. Cowpea The program has been in existence for more than 50 years and Program Improvement Plans for immediate follow-up include: Recruitment of an additional breeder and postdoctoral researchers for molecular breeding and host plant resistance entomologist, etc. Upgradation of facilities for aphid infestation and drought. Improve irrigation systems and screen houses Dr BB Singh ADG (O&P) ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, at the workshop. Optimization of breeding workflow to reduce cycle time and increased use of molecular tools in collaboration with University of California Riverside (UCR) Ensure genetic purity and integrity at all stages of the pipeline Farm/plot mechanization. Common Bean The common bean program intends to address three pipelines: Drought, low phosphorus (P) and low nitrogen (N) tolerance High mineral iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) lines Insect pests bean stem maggot and bruchids, and disease resistance (angular leaf spot, common bacterial blight and bean common mosaic virus) The other key traits include cooking time and yield. Program Improvement Plans for immediate follow-up includes Speed aiming at four generations per year in Uganda SSD for fast generation advance, plot mechanization including planters and harvesters Increase number of crosses to 100 per year; handle up to 5,000 10,000 lines per year; use BMS and molecular tools Quality phenotyping Uniformity of fields DNA marker technology Use the CGIAR common genotyping facility at ICRISAT or Intertek genotyping platform Better use of data in decision making Improve irrigation facility (solar powered) Already using electronic data capture tools; increase use of automated data collection. ICRISAT Happenings October

8 Chickpea For chickpea, key challenges include Fusarium wilt, ascochyta and pod borers. The program in Ethiopia has a target to increase production by 50% by Researchers will focus on working with partners to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for the meeting the challenges mentioned above. Program Improvement Plans to address these constraints include the following: Increase the crossing capability of the program (up to 50 crosses per year) and widening the genetic pool by requesting new germplasm from the genebank in India Use SSD for fast generation advance, aim at 2-3 generations per year Use BMS and molecular tools Quality phenotyping Uniformity of fields Use electronic data capture tools; increase use of automated data collection. Way forward All partners expressed satisfaction that the BPAT exercise added value to their programs. Dr Jeff Ehlers, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, commented that BPAT can be used in an advocacy role: pushing national programs and CGIAR centers to deliver more efficiently. Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT, said that BPAT assessment should be extended to other locations as well. Dr Moses Siambi, Regional Director- ESA, emphasized on the need to increase production and productivity of the four key legumes under TL III in order to meet the high demand in project focus geographies. With our integrated efforts we not only need to enable smallholders to move from subsistence farming to marketable surplus production but also ensure better nutrition and health, he said. Dr Ehlers commended the partners effort for bringing in a real change in mindset and thinking of NARS and other partners and he also appreciated the visible efforts of incorporating the outcomes of the BPAT for improving the breeding programs. He also suggested the need to have the benchmark studies and document the reports on the genetic gains in key breeding programs. Dr Rajeev Varshney, Research Program Director - Genetic Gains, ICRISAT, encouraged the partners to utilize the ICRISAT genotyping platform/high throughput phenotyping and genotyping facility. He urged the Crop Improvement Breeding and Genetic Gains units of ICRISAT to work closely for better integration of the breeding activities and genomics. The workshop on Increasing the Genetic Gains of Project Partner Breeding Programs was held from 1-2 September at Nairobi, Kenya. g Project: Tropical Legumes III Investor: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Partners: CIAT, IITA, and NARS partners from sub-saharan Africa and South Asia. CGIAR Research Program: Grain Legumes This work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals 8 ICRISAT Happenings October

9 MLE work plan to document roadmap to achieving TL III project objective Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) A work plan to document the roadmap to achieving the Tropical Legumes (TL) III project aim was prepared by participants attending a workshop in Kenya. The TL III project aims at releasing 50 high-yielding, stress resistant, market preferred varieties with superior cooking and nutritional qualities of groundnut, cowpea, common bean and chickpea by Urging participants to embrace and adopt the approved MLE work plan, Dr Emmanuel Monyo, Project coordinator TL III, said, Quoting release of varieties per se is not enough but emphasis needs to be put on the genetic gains of those varieties and the available seed systems for their dissemination. He said there needs to be a better way of documenting project achievements. A properly designed MLE plan will help the team to achieve this. Dr Jeff Ehlers, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation applauded the efforts of all the TL III partners and stressed that at the donor level, the Foundation sees the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) as key implementers for the third phase of the project. He also reminded the need for return on investments (ROI) for funds, but above all, synchronizing the work being done with national strategies in order to have bigger impact. He was happy to point out the investments in national institutions like the Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture (EIAR) were bearing fruit. We need to continue documenting adoption of improved varieties and technologies developed as part of this project. We need to avail indicators of successful return on investments: what has been achieved and how confident we are on what has been reported. The Foundation is interested in knowing what NARS is doing, their capabilities and how we can measure these successes better while adopting the MLE plan, he said. Addressing the participants Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT, highlighted the need to develop marketdriven varieties and define the research agenda to answer the concerns along the production chains like: what are the market requirements? Who are the partners needed for its delivery? Who are the actors involved throughout the chain? He emphasized on role of engaging with policy makers and urged the CGIAR leaders to be ambassadors to strive for policy reforms. He urged the project partners to synchronize the plans to the country strategies; look for avenues to unlock markets, and document the constraints, enabling policies and partnership environments needed to unlock markets. Participants grouped objective-wise to fill the MLE forms and data collection tools at the TL III MLE workshop. During the two-day deliberations MLE consultant Dr Yvonne Pinto, Director of Agricultural Learning and Impacts Network (ALINe), Firetail, sensitized project partners on TL III MLE principles, highlighted the detailed functioning of MLE, reiterated the objectives, theory of change, elaborated MLE framework and the significance of MLE to TL III project. Mr Amos Kioko, Project Officer MLE, facilitated and educated the participants on filling of MLE data collection tools and forms. Objective-wise groups were formed to have better integration and synergy while filling the MLE forms and reporting on the project development. Project indicator reference sheet was discussed to provide guidance on definition of terms, calculations, type of indicator, level of aggregation, data disaggregation, method of data collection, data sources, frequency of data collection, persons responsible, etc. Percentage of women using improved technologies, percentage change in gender yield gap along with number of improved legumes varieties developed and released, number of improved legumes varieties available for national testing, number of farmerpreferred varieties released in the national system, number of participants reached/ awareness created were some of the important indicators discussed as part of the MLE indicators. The Breeding Management System was also discussed as a tool for data management and reporting. It was suggested to track the average age of variety in a particular country to understand the genetic gains in farmers fields. Dr Stanley Nkalubo, Scientist from National Crop Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), Uganda, urged NARS to look at ICRISAT Happenings October

10 the country strategies and what works are being done to improve the nutrition and food security in the country. He cited the example of how iron-rich beans released under this project are helping in the fight against anemia in Uganda. MLE is a way of learning for all and we need to learn and define the impact using the available facilities and resources, said Dr Clare Mukankusi, who represented International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Dr Christian Fatokun, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), emphasized on the need to work with industries in the private sector and mentioned about their work with Monsanto for developing improved cowpea technologies. He reminded the team that Tropical Legumes project is a ten-year vision currently in its eighth year and there is need for ex-post assessment of the success achieved and project the future of legumes when the project ends in There is a need to plan on how to attract youth to replace the ageing generation of farmers. The way farming should be practiced must reflect the changing environment to encourage more youth to join agriculture, he said. Underlining the importance of efficient data management and use of Breeding Management System (BMS) discussions were facilitated by Dr Rajeev Varshney, Research Program Director - Genetic Gains, ICRISAT and Principal Investigator, TL III, with NARS partners to finalize the target locations per country and identify the country focal points. It was decided that assessment of existing capacities on data management and BMS of NARS partners Participants from CG and NARS institutes discuss on refining the MLE forms. will be done and accordingly plans for trainings and implementation of BMS and data management strategy will be developed as follow-up activity. The workshop was held on August and was attended by more than 60 participants from CIAT, IITA, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ICRISAT and NARS partners from sub-saharan Africa and South Asia. g This work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals 10 ICRISAT Happenings October